Ordering stuff from the USA

[andybr6 0]

Hypothetically of course if I were to get my [hypothetical] family member who lives in the US to buy a watch for me and then post it over to the UK, with no receipts contained within the parcel, how likely is it that customs would pick up on it. Are they allowed to open packages that dont have those green stickers on them saying what you bought, how much it cost and where you got it from?

Answers from both US and UK peops' in the know would be great.

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"All men can fly, but sadly, only in one direction"

[mr2mk1g 10]

Yes they can open it regardless of what sticker you put on it. Can they tax it? yes... are there steps to get round it? yes.

If, for example, your "auntie" put in a note saying "here you are andy - here's your watch you left behind when you were visiting me you silly thing", then customs would not really be able to do anything.

I think its the same with gifts so were "auntie" to send it over with a birthday card then again customs wouldn't do shit.

I couldnt of course commend defrauding those wonderful people at customs and excise though could I?

(PS - Customs just sent me a cheque through for the £132 they charged me on my cypress when it came back from SSK after its 8 year check. It only took 3 phone calls and 2 letters, one of which threatening a law suit).

[andybr6 0]

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couldnt of course commend defrauding those wonderful people at customs and excise though could I?

Of course not, I wouldnt want you too either

I had thought about the note saying that "you left it behind" but this watch is new and expensive as well as being hypothetical so i wanted to get all the stuff with it. The birthday card is a great idea, i'll do a little research to make sure its all above board. If you are intereseted ill PM you what i find out?
That CyPRes thing sounds crap, i gotta send mine off in june, so that will be a nice hassle with beurocrats for me to look forward to.

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"All men can fly, but sadly, only in one direction"

[Zeemax 0]

the other chestnut i usually use is to get the company to send it as a 'sample'.

Make sure on the invoice they send with it there is no charge made and it clearly says somewhere, SAMPLE PRODUCT or something similar.

They wont tax on a sample (or at least they never have for me)

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[mr2mk1g 10]

Simply way to avoid my problems with customs re cypres is to send it to airtec in germany. Its inside the EU so no taxes.

Mine was coming from America because technically thats where I bought it, although customs didn't know that and I had the seller send it to airtec and then airtec on to me and customs just assumed that I had sent it to them for its check.

What I should have done is have the seller send it to Airtec i germany (no taxes as its off for its check) and then Airtec send it on to me in the UK (no taxes as its moving within the EU). I wouldnt have had the hassle then - but hind sight is 20/20

If you want to get the packaging and reciepts that come with the new "hypothetical" watch you "auntie" could always "forget" to send those with the watch and send them the week after in another package.

I generally get my some friend to bring back things from the US. Ask arround your DZ - there is always someone or some team coming back from abroad who can pick things up for you. The standard charge is a crate of beer. I had a friend bring back a new reserve from america like that over christmas and I collected it from him (for a crate of beer) when we met up at the AGM.

Of course your friend mus declaire the gear to customs as he passes through the airport and pay all the relevant duties at that point.... which is why he mailed the reciept to you and doesnt carry it on him

[vt1977 0]

One other trick is to get the person sending it to put on the customs thing “returned to owner following repair/alteration”.

hth!

Vicki

[Tonto 1]

This works extra well if you post an old sock to the store that sells the watches.

If customs gives you shit - show them the reciept from the postal service you used to ship it out of the UK.

And on quiet rainy days, imagine the conversations at the watch store...

"Hey Jake!"

"Yeah?"

"There's a sock on the box for repair. Do you repair socks? I think it's only the one. The other one must be fine..."

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[mr2mk1g 10]

I like that idea yes. Its one of the things customs hassled me about - they wanted proof that I had sent my cypres to America. If I could have shown them that it would have been really simple to get my import duties back.

Of course I couldn't cos I never had it before it went to the US, but I won cos I told them they were only ever made in one country - Germany, and that it was simply now being returned to its home state (the EU). They can't charge you if its returning but technically can if its never been here before even if its a gift (so I was told).

The reason they took £132 off me for the cypres was because they value an 8 year old cypres as £1000 being its "new" value. It does not technically matter that something is second hand, you have to pay duty on the new item. I might have had an argument on this one as the cypres unusually has a finite life span. Luckily I didn't need to press them on it as they gave up the argument.

[andybr6 0]

Thanks for all your help, its been really useful. I like the sock idea if only for its comic value. I i were to do this, which of course i would not because it is illegal and immoral , i would get the watch sent over with a "you left it here" note. The i'll get the box and stuff sent over later, maybe to another address. The gift idea would not work, see below.

Again thanks for all the help

BTW useful info for anyone importing items.

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Q What do I need to know about postal imports and gifts?
When goods are posted from outside the EC, duty and VAT are payable unless the value of the goods is £18 or less. There are separate allowances for tobacco products, alcohol, perfumes and toilet waters ('excise goods'). The rates of duty and VAT are determined by reference to The Integrated Tariff, just like any other imported goods. Certain goods may also be prohibited.
If gifts are imported by post from outside the EC, duty and VAT not payable if the value of the goods is £36 or less. However, there are separate allowances for excise goods.
Goods posted from the EC are normally admitted free of charge, but there are special regulations for excise goods. Certain goods may also be prohibited.

Further information is contained in Notice 143.

source: www.hme.gov.uk

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"All men can fly, but sadly, only in one direction"

[wingnut 0]

just letting ya know... you have to put a greeen or white (depending on size of box and weight) customs fom on all packages gong out of the u.s.... just have it declared as a gift on the package..... no worries then....

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"i have no reader's digest version"

[dgskydive 0]

I get people to ask me to do that all the time and I won't. It isn't that I don't want to help them, but if we get got doing that we can get in trouble. So don't get mad if they won't do it. They are just trying to protect their business.

Dom

[garef001 0]

"if i were to" ship stuff to greece a lot the way to pass customs without being charged is to say that it is a sample. always works and it dosen't matter what it is.

Thanasi